Furniture roller or coaster



o. E. DE HAVEN FURNITURE ROLLER OR GOASTER I Filed Feb. 24, 1934 INVENTOR. v0. 5 De Hare/7,

ATTORNEY.-

Patented Mar. 17, 1936 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to furniture coasters or rollers, and the primary object in view is to. devise an improved rolling type of support for furniture whereby the latter may be afforded a more smoothly-gliding supporting a means than that which characterizes the average roller caster construction.

For carrying out this purpose I have devised an improved form of ball bearing structure which affords a universal sliding movement with utmost freedom of action, and which is applied to the furniture with the same ease and convenience as ordinary types of casters.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device of this character which will be of comparatively simple and inexpensive construction, as well as of compact design having an extremely neat and attractive appearance.

With the foregoing general objects in View, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one satisfactory and practical form of construction for embodying the proposed improvements, after which those features and combinations deemed to be novel and patentable will be particularly set forth and claimed.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is an elevation illustrating a portion of a furniture leg equipped with a rolling coaster device embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the same;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view, representing a section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, this illustrates my improved rolling coaster construction as comprising a sectional body portion made up of upper and lower sections 1 and 8 connected by a screw-threaded stem as indicated at 9, whereby the parts may be relatively adjusted to vary the height of the supporting portion of the device. The upper section 8 is formed with a shank extension I2 of the usual type having the ball terminal [4 for attaching the device to the article of furniture, such as a leg l5 having the bottom opening [6 equipped with a spring socket member I! for clasping engagement with the shank l2 and terminal l4 in the usual manner, whereupon the weight of the furniture is carried upon the upper shoulder l of the section 1 of the device.

The lower section 8 is formed with an external thread 20 for the attachment of a ferrule 21 having a bottom inturned lip 22, suitably concaved as indicated at 24, for retaining engagement with a ball roller 25.

The bottom face of said section 8 is further formed with a substantially cylindrical socket 26 for accommodating a ball retaining member 21, in which is mounted a plurality of ball bearings 28 in ball-bearing relation to the top of the relatively larger ball roller 25, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. The socket 26 is made of amply large diameter to accommodate the ball bearings 28, as by providing suitable offsets or recesses 26 opposite the balls 28 for leaving the latter free to move in contact with only the ball 25 and the retaining member itself.

With the foregoing construction it is apparent that the device may be attached to the article of furniture in the usual manner by simply inserting the shank or stem l2 into the socket H, thus imposing the load upon the shoulder 1' of the device. Since irregularities in the floor, or in the article of furniture itself, due to warping or the like, may render some adjustment as to height necessary, this can be readily obtained by the adjustment of the sections i and 8 of one or more of the devices through the medium of their threaded connection 9, in an obvious manner. The furniture will now be accurately and uniformly supported by its several supporting coasters or rollers, each of which is of a ball-bearing construction, including the large floor-engaging ball roller carrying the load through the medium of the plurality of ball bearings 28 mounted in ball-bearing relation to the top of the large roller 25. This provides a perfectly free-acting support, allowing smooth gliding movement in any direction, and the action of which is practically noiseless and will have a minimum tendency to produce any marring effect upon the floor surface.

The construction further comprises a minimum number of parts for the desired purpose, and these of a simple and inexpensive character, and the assembly of parts produces a very compact appliance having a sightly appearance, lending a neat and attractive effect to the article of furniture to which it is applied.

Having described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

A furniture coaster or roller appliance comprising a body portion provided with means for attachment to the furniture, the bottom face of said body portion having a substantially cylindrical socket having the side wall thereof formed with a series of spaced recesses, a ball retaining member embedded in said socket, a plurality of ball bearing elements retained by said retaining member in spaced relation respectively Opposite said recesses to permit outward spreading movement of said. elements under load conditions, a

relatively larger ball roller, and a ferrule member secured to said body portion and formed with a lip retaining said ball roller in exposed relation and also in ball bearing relation to said. bearing elements.

O'I'IO E. DE HAVEN. 

